Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival 2015 Festival Report
Introduction The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival continued to experience strong consumer and exhibitor attendance in 2015. 2015 Calgary Festival 13,996 attendees 216 exhibitor booths 3 sponsors 18 th consecutive year 2015 Edmonton Festival 11,986 attendees 178 exhibitor booths 3 sponsors 14 th consecutive year
Consumer Profile The Festival primarily attracts consumers in the 26-50 age range, who enjoy medium to high household incomes. 2015 Consumer Age Distribution 2015 Consumer Estimated Household Income 35% 25% 30% 20% 25% 20% 15% 15% 10% 5% 16% 11% 24% 19% 28% 30% 16% 23% 14% 16% 10% 5% 3% 2% 8% 7% 14% 12% 17% 15% 17% 19% 11% 12% 9% 9% 0% 1% 1% 18-25 26-30 31-40 41-50 51-65 66+ 0% Up to $25K $26K-50K $51K-$75K $76-$100K $101K-$150K $150K-$200K Over $200K Calgary Edmonton Calgary Edmonton
Consumer Profile (continued) Over 89% of consumers rated their Overall Experience at the Festival as Good, Very Good, or Excellent. 50% Consumer's Overall Experience 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Consumer likelihood to purchase a beverage product tasted at the Festival 30% 38% 37% 32% 19% 16% Calgary 10% 11% Definitely Very Likely Likely Somewhat Likely Edmonton 5% 4% Not Likely 45% 40% 35% 30% 40% 30% Consumer likelihood to visit a restaurant sampled at the Festival Calgary Edmonton 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2% 5% 8% 7% 18% 16% 39% 46% Poor Fair Good Very Good Calgary Edmonton 30% 29% Excellent 20% 10% 0% 20% 23% 34% 33% Over 82% of consumers indicated they were Definitely, Very Likely, or Likely planning to purchase a product they tasted at the Festival. 23% Definitely Very Likely Likely Somewhat LikelyNot Likely 23% 17% 15% 7% 6%
What consumers said about the 2015 Festivals Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival was AWESOME! It was my first time going to this event. I can honestly say I had a great time! I enjoyed trying and sampling all the different wines and food. I will definitely recommend this to people I know. (Calgary) I have enjoyed it every year, this is my 8th year attending. (Edmonton) Had an absolutely amazing experience, exceeded expectations. (Calgary) Not being much of a wine person, the opportunity to attend changed my view on the vast selections and choices I never even knew were out there for me. I walked away with new favorites, tastes and will definitely be returning the following year with my friends and inviting more family. (Edmonton) We had a TON of fun! This was a very organized, fun event full of options! Can't wait for next year!! (Edmonton)
2015 Festival Marketing The Festival continues to utilize a comprehensive marketing plan: Festival Database Email advertisements were sent to more than 48,500 active consumer email addresses in the Festival database. The majority of database members reside in Alberta. Database emails are always unique, including fresh pictures and creative writing. The database continues to grow with each Festival held. Social Media Campaigns The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival holds a significant presence in social media with more than 4,900 Likes on Facebook, 5,700 followers on Twitter, and 1000 followers on Instagram. The Festival made frequent posts on social media sites and utilized a broad contesting plan, giving away tickets to generate excitement. Additionally, the Festival also partnered with magazines such as WHERE and local social media influencers to give away tickets and spread the word on social media. Print Material Posters and postcards were distributed to all restaurant exhibitors, various local businesses and displayed in more than 43 Sobeys Liquor stores, and 10 Safeway Wine & Spirits stores throughout Alberta. Website The website www.rockymountainwine.com received a significant amount of traffic in 2015, totalling 138,290 sessions - 91,538 of which were new visitors. Corporate Ticket Campaigns More than 2,500 Festival tickets were sold directly to Alberta corporations (social clubs, client gifts, etc.)
2015 Festival Marketing (continued) Online Advertising The Festival placed online advertisements in the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, and utilized social media ads on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The online ad campaigns were specifically targeted to reach Festival demographics. RMWFF details were also included in different Avenue E-Newsletters (Edmonton Weekender and Calgary Food & Drink). Print Advertising Festival ads were placed in the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, City Palate, Culinaire, Avenue Magazine and The Tomato Food & Drink. Radio Advertising The Festival advertised on some of the most popular radio stations in Calgary and Edmonton including Virgin 98.5 (Calgary), X92.9 (Calgary), Country 105 (Calgary), CISN 103.9 (Edmonton), 102.3 Now! (Edmonton), 104.9 Virgin (Edmonton), 91.7 The BOUNCE (Edmonton), 102.9 Sonic (Edmonton) and Hot 107 (Edmonton). Television Advertising Festival television segments aired on Breakfast Television Edmonton (City), which facilitated a strong commercial presence, weekly in-show contest mentions, online presence on their website supplemented by social media integration and an in-show live segment inclusion. Other Advertising The Festival printed tabletop tent cards which were displayed in the food court at The Core shopping center in Calgary.
Public Relations & Media The Festival enjoyed an abundance of complimentary media coverage in 2015 Print Coverage Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Culinaire Magazine, City Palate Magazine, Avenue Magazine, Where Calgary & Edmonton, The Tomato Food & Drink, Edmonton Woman s Magazine TV Coverage & Interviews CTV Morning Live (Calgary), CTV News interview (Edmonton), Shaw TV (Calgary & Edmonton), Global News interviews (Calgary & Edmonton), Dinner Television (Edmonton) Radio Interviews & On-Site Coverage 660 News interview (Calgary), Country 105 interview (Calgary), 95.7 Cruz (Edmonton), CISN Country interview (Edmonton) E-zines, Blogs & Other Online Listings Travel Alberta Website Top Events Canada Local Wine Events Epicurean The Culture Cycle Calgary Buzz Food Network It s Date Night Calgary Foodies I m Mr Fabulous Camila Di Giuseppe Food Mama FOMO Calgary Vue Weekly Yelp Wine + Dine Little Miss Andrea Festival Trek Canadian Festival Guide Let s OM NOM Mr. Moo s Adventures Info Edmonton Diverse Edmonton WooBox Plus many more!
2015 Exhibitor Profile Exhibitors in the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival included: Wine agencies and wineries Adult beverage agencies Breweries Restaurants and hotels Chocolate, cheese, cupcake, and other gourmet food companies A small portion of promotional companies
Exhibitor Survey Results About a quarter of the exhibitors completed a survey providing valuable feedback regarding their participation in the Festival. Overall Quality of the Festival Fair 2% Poor 2% 93% of exhibitors said their objectives for participating in the Festival were met. Good 47% Overall, 96% of exhibitors rated the quality of their experience as Excellent or Good. Excellent 49%
Exhibitor Survey Results (continued) 99% of exhibitors plan on participating in 2016 or were undecided at the time of the survey. Quality of Customers Fair 3% Poor 0% Do you plan on participating in next year s Rocky Mountain & Food Festival? Maybe 24% Good 57% Excellent 40% No 1% 97% of exhibitors rated the quality of Festival customers as Good or Excellent. Yes 75%
What exhibitors said about the Festival Excellent staff and security was top notch. RMWFF runs a very good show - gold standard! Very well run and was impressed with the efficiency of the whole operation from start to finish. All festival staff I spoke with were excellent! Amazing organization and management. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. One of the best run shows that I do. It was a great weekend. We received lots of positive feedback and had terrific exposure!
Industry & Trade As an added benefit for exhibitors, Industry & Trade members were invited to attend a one-hour private Industry Sneak Peek, to connect with other industry professionals and to sample new products and cuisine. Approximately 200 Industry & Trade attended in each city. 88% of attendees rated the session Excellent or Very Good. Overall Quality of I&T Sneak Peek Good 12% Fair or Poor 0% Excellent 44% Very Good 44%
Sponsors We graciously thank all of the 2015 Sponsors, who were an integral part of the Festival s success, providing financial, marketing and event support. The Festival prides itself on developing mutually beneficial relationships, which include unique programs for each sponsor. The Festival was excited to have Sobeys Liquor and Safeway Wine & Spirits as the title sponsor for 2015. 2015 Sponsors Title Sponsor Sobeys Liquor and Safeway Wine & Spirits Festival Sponsors LiquorConnect.com Sunshine Village & Ski Resort Industry & Trade Sponsor Connect Logistics
Giving Back Scholarships, Meals, Food and Donations Raised in 2015 SAIT & NAIT Scholarships and funds totaling $10,000 were once again raised for NAIT and SAIT culinary schools in continued support of local culinary arts programs. Food Banks With consumer donations, the Festival was able to raise $2,673 and 1620 pounds of non-perishable food items between the two cities! In addition, the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival team donated 24 volunteer hours at the Calgary Food Bank, packing up meals for those in need. Mealshare Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival supported Mealshare's cause in 2015 by donating a meal for every Front of the Line ticket sold. 2,941 meals were donated to people in need! Jumpstart A monetary donation of $3,500 was made to Canadian Tire's Jumpstart through bottled water sales at the Festival. The Canadian Tire Jumpstart is a charity that helps disadvantaged youth participate in sport and recreation activities.
2016 Festival Dates Calgary Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival Stampede Park BMO Centre, Halls D & E October 14 & 15, 2016 Friday & Saturday Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival Shaw Conference Centre, Halls A-C November 4 & 5, 2016 Friday & Saturday
Celebrate Winefest! The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival also proudly produces Winefest, an all-inclusive wine tasting event. Both events grew significantly in attendance in 2016! Winefest Edmonton Winefest Calgary February 12 & 13, 2016 February 19 & 20, 2016 Friday & Saturday Friday & Saturday Afternoon & Evening Tasting Sessions Afternoon & Evening Tasting Sessions Please visit www.celebratewinefest.com for more information
Contact Us Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival General Contact Information Sponsorship Inquiries: Food or Promotional Exhibitor Beverage Exhibitor Inquiries: Cathy Cook Inquiries: Michelle Landry Festival Director Katie Hopkins, Event Coordinator Event Coordinator E: cathy@rockymountainwine.com E: katie@rockymountainwine.com E: michelle@rockymountainwine.com Consumer Inquiries: Marketing Inquiries: Marketing Inquiries: Sarah Whiteley Maria Yanez Daytanya Fissell Event/Office Assistant Marketing & Event Coordinator Marketing Manager & Event Coordinator E: sarah@rockymountainwine.com E: maria@rockymountainwine.com E: daytanya@rockymountainwine.com Liz Horner Janelle Gignac Stacia Zack Senior Event Coordinator Event Coordinator Senior Event Coordinator E: liz@rockymountainwine.com E: janelle@rockymountainwine.com E: stacia@rockymountainwine.com Telephone: 403-228-0777 Toll-free: 1-866-228-3555 Fax: 403-398-1334